Testing Options

GMO food/feed testing is based on some fundamental principles of genetic engineering and cellular physiology:

DNA: The introduction of foreign DNA into a recipient plant’s DNA (genetic engineering)

Protein: The information coded in DNA is translated into protein that performs the function specified by the DNA instructions (cellular physiology)

Two methods have been developed based on these fundamentals: genetic analysis (DNA analysis) and Immunological analysis (Protein analysis). Three tests are currently available using these methods.

Genetic Analysis (DNA analysis)

Genetic analysis is a GMO testing method that detects the presence of a transgene in a plant cell’s genome. The specific GMO test used in this method is called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR Test):

Copies a specific section of a plant’s DNA billions of times in order to detect and quantitate foreign DNA (GMO) inserted into the plant’s genome.

Uses short pieces of DNA (primers) that are complementary to the GMO sequence to vastly amplify and quantitate GMOs.